


The Fate of a Star - The One True King

by whoms_account_be_this



Series: The Fate of a Star [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, M/M, gay male author
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-09-03 19:32:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8727448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoms_account_be_this/pseuds/whoms_account_be_this
Summary: The Astrals were left stranded on Eos to find their mother. They failed, and now the universe crumbles around them. They must now protect Eos from the dark, both from within their world and from the Void that threatens to destroy the universe. They place their faith in the One True King who will determine the fate of their star.A Final Fantasy XV AU inspired by the Fabula Nova Crystallis Mythos.Chapter 1 - Noctis and the gang set off on their journey, while Noctis questions if he is ready to hand over his life to be a good king.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: A soft re-write of FFXV. The game was great, but had a lot of loose threads in the story and things that came out of nowhere. What really struck me are the things based heavily off the Fabula Nova Crystallis Mythos. The demons, for example, were clearly based off Cie’th.
> 
> I intend to explore the FFXV setting with the following being the primary changes: 1) Diablos is added to the Astrals, 2) Astrals were formally known as fal’cie before shedding their titles and fading into legend 3) Demons are actually cie’th, though the mechanics are slightly different than other Fabula Nova games 4) Ardyn has a back story 5) Aranea has shit to do in this story 6) So does Luna because 6 person party! 7) I will explore Luna/Noctis and Noctis/Prompto as equal ships.
> 
> This story will largely follow the PATH of the game, but other than that, the story will be changed as the parts above have been changed.
> 
> This first chapter is a prologue, about 2000 years before the game. The Astrals are called fal'cie in the past, but they fade into legends as Astrals.

 

**The Fate of a Star - The One True King**

 

**The Cosmogony**

_The Astrals: Shiva, Titan, Ramuh, Bahamut, Ifrit, Leviathan and Diablos._

_Gods left stranded on Eos by their creator._

_The Purpose: to find the gates to infinity where the Mother of All Creation lay sleeping._

_Eons pass. The universe around them crumbles, the mother gone. The Void encroaches on Eos, their home._ _They agree to protect their world from the darkness of non-existence._

_Diablos refused – the Old War began._

* * *

 

“I’m sorry,” Yunan Nox Fleuret, Oracle of the fal’cie, muttered under her breath as Titan’s hand carried her down into the newly formed crater. It didn’t matter, but it seemed appropriate. Titan couldn’t hear her even if she screamed to the heavens as she so wanted to. The fal’cie couldn’t speak or hear the human tongue, but rather, they communicated through thought. She sent encouragement towards the large being that carried her, holding the anger in her heart that she yearned to express.

 _Caught up in a war that wasn_ _’t ours for gods who care not at all for the lives of humans. Shiva be damned._ She shook her head at the thought, her blond hear clumping on her shoulder in a tangled mess. When was the last time she rested?

It wasn’t a fair thought. Shiva did truly care for humanity, but life hadn’t been fair in a long time. “So fuck her,” Yunan said aloud. She kept the sob that threatened to spill from inside her chest bound to her heart. Ardyn deserved to see her at her best as she descended into the crater.

She looked up to see the meteor, suspended a thousand, maybe two, feet off the ground by Titan’s other hand. Ardyn had offered to take Diablos’ darkness within himself, rather than to let the Astrals crush him with the meteor as Ifrit so yearned. Even Titan agreed the loss of human life in the Duscae region would be too much, and offered to hold the meteor for eternity.

Titan’s hand shuddered beneath her, returning her thoughts from the clouds. She was at the bottom of the crater. She gave one of Titan’s hand an affectionate brush as she jumped off. Best to keep him in the dark. The fal’cie had feared the dark so.

She saw Ardyn’s green robes from a hundred feet away and her heart raced like her wedding day as she ran. She fell to her knees beside him, cradling his broken body in her arms. Her love… forever stained by what the fal’cie had made them do.

She closed her eyes and recalled the day that Bahamut had arrived – the mighty dragon of the skies at her wedding! Her soul had been ecstatic the day the gods told them that they would have a role to play in the fate of their star. The alliance of Nox Fleuret and Lucis to save the world…

They were just tools from the start. They never got a day of happiness.

She felt a brush on her cheek, opening her eyes to find that Ardyn was awake. His face was scared, scorched like molten rock, the stubble that once framed his face in a handsome fashion long seared off. Black goo oozed from his mouth and eyes, his face pale and inhuman.

“My love,” he spoke, voice raspy and wet.

Logic told her to run. That voice wasn’t human. But they were in this together. Always had been, always would be.

“My love,” she spoke back and brushed her hand through his now mushy hair. “They took everything from us.”

“We saved the world,” Ardyn croaked. “We saved humanity from the dark.”

“The fal’cie used us,” Yunan bemoaned. “I’ll never forgive them.”

“We did the right thing. The thing we had to do.”

“We had to lose our happiness?” 

“I always knew I would be willing to give my life for my kingdom. And I did. We saved the world. Do not despair. I have no regrets.”

“Your children will not have a father.”

Ardyn laughed as best he could as his body failed him. “They will have a world to live in.” His body was melting in her arms.

“You are so good, Ardyn… too good. You don’t deserve to lose your soul.”

“I price I gladly pay.”

“No,” Yunan said. She grabbed Ardyn’s hand. “I am the Oracle. I commune with the fal’cie. I will not let them wipe your soul from our star.”

“So kind of you,” Ardyn mumbled. “But there is nothing you can do.”

“There is,” Yunan said solemnly as she pressed her lips to his.

Ardyn pulled away. “Whatever you do, don’t…”

Yunan ignored him, beckoning out to Diablos. The presence rested menacing incarnate in her heart. “Diablos!” she cried out loud for her husband’s sake. “I offer you a fragment of my soul!”

“No!” Ardyn croaked, but he had no control of his body as darkness left him.

Yunan screamed as the darkness entered her. She remained strong, relying on Ardyn for support he didn’t want to give. It was painful, but hardly a fragment compared to what Ardyn had had to do – the crater was proof enough of the extreme transfer of power that had taken place. Her poor husband… taking in enough power to burn a continent. And it would go down in history as the meteor that never landed.

 _Damn you, Bahamut,_ her heart roared. She didn’t squash the thought. A speck of darkness was a part of her now. Diablos was within her.

The pain subsided and she met Ardyn’s sad eyes, the last part of his husk of a body that hadn’t started to deteriorate.

“I took,” she said, pausing for breath. “I took a small amount of the darkness that was inside of you.”

“The fal’cie…”

“Will never know that I did this,” she answered immediately. She felt the fragment of Diablos inside of her quell, knowing it was in his best interest to remain undetected. “Now, you will always have a bit of light in side of you, my love. Your soul will always exist within the Void.”

“Yunan…” Ardyn muttered. “All of this was for nothing…”

“Screw the fal’cie,” Yunan retorted, standing up. “Because of this, your soul will always exist in the Void as Diablos will always exist within our world because of me. And as he regenerates, you will regenerated along with him as his vessel.”

“He almost destroyed our whole species…”

“Better a species than a soul,” Yunan hissed. “Goodbye, my love. You may never forgive me… The fal’cie will pay for what they did.”

She ignored Ardyn’s cries from behind as his body deteriorated. Probably best not to look.  She felt the tiny ball of darkness inside her. She had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably shouldn't post this yet; however, I want to get this ball rolling while it is here. I really loved this game, and now that I have beaten it, I need to bask further in it!
> 
> Also, I am new to the FFXV fandom, so if you want to be friends or beta, let me know! Currently under noct-noct-whothere on tumblr!


	2. Chapter 2

_Each generation of the Lucis family has a son chosen as l’Cie._

_The dark pact of the crystal, many say, though not a king has refused his calling._

* * *

 2000 years later

Noctis threw his sword, and then for a moment - a split second in the webs of space and time - he didn’t exist. The sabertusk didn’t know what it was facing, as rarely even a human did, as Noctis reappeared with his sword piercing into the animal’s flesh. It didn’t have time to process anything as Noctis’s body crashed into it, killing it if the blade hadn’t already.

The beast was dead and no longer a concern. Two more to go, he mentally noted as his buddies neared the marks that Cindy requested that they kill. They were an easy kill, hardly needing his friends, but they always fought as one even if he got carried away.

He didn’t bother to kill the sabertusk coming from behind, knowing Gladio was already there cleaving the beast in two with on fell swoop of his sword. Noctis was already warp striking to the third sabertusk, grinning at Prompto as the beast died before the other man’s bullets could pierce it.

Prompto pouted, a look of disappointment on his face at being cock blocked from the kill. Noctis could only chuckled as he willed his weapon from existence. A perk of being a l’cie.

Ignis tsked as he saw Prompto moaning. “Enough, boys. There will be many a hunt for you both to slay.”

Noctis shook his head. Leave it to Ignis to interfere with their banter – though, perhaps, that was part of the fun. His thought was interrupted as his phone rang.  _Perfect timing_ , he thought, looking at the carcasses of the sabertusk.

“Hello?” Noctis greeted. It was probably Cindy, the mechanic who was fixing their car in exchange for some minor hunting.

“Hey, it’s Cindy. How goes the huntin?”

“Actually, we just finished.”

“That’s great, ‘cause I got one more hunt for y’all – only this time, it’s for a person.” Noctis chuckled. Ignis was right about there being another hunt – he rarely wasn’t – though he was off about the slaying. Though, looking around at the monsters in the desert, perhaps he wasn’t.

Cindy continued talking, his chuckle too quiet to distract her. “Fella named Dave went off, and we ain’t heard from him since. Reckon he staked out a spot in an old shack nearby.”

“A shack?” Noctis wondered with a frown on his face. How far was she going to make them walk to fix the Regalia? His arms and legs still ached from having to push it half a mile down the road after it broke down. He sighed with relief as he saw the shack, perhaps a thousand feet away behind a rock.  Not too bad. “Got it. We’ll take a look.”

He put away his phone once he was sure that she was done. “We’re looking for a person,” he informed his friends, eyes locking on Prompto. “Cindy says we are looking for a person who should be in a shack around here. I’m guessing there,” he pointed behind the rock. “Race you!” he shouted and then he was off.

Prompto got the message, taking off in a mad dash. Noctis laughed, knowing Prompto was irked, but that was half the fun. It wasn’t long before Prompto caught up to him. His friend was known as the Quicksilver after all – as fast with his guns as he was on foot. A quick learner, even, as he hadn’t touched a gun three years ago. Another five and he wouldn’t have been able to dash for any duration either. But now Prompto was fast, light on his feet, and he was ahead.

There would be none of that. Noctis wouldn’t allow it. He willed his javelin into hand, the power of the l’cie coalescing as cool metal in his hand. Then he threw it, nearly hitting Prompto but not quite. And then he was next to Prompto, running alongside him.

Prompto growled at the challenge and soon enough doubled his speed to beat Noctis.

Noctis grinned and threw his weapon again. He wound up fifty feet in front of his friend, and turned around to wave at him before throwing his weapon again. This time he threw it at the shack, both the weapon and him materializing above the entrance. Noctis dropped to the ground as he waited for Prompto to arrive.

“No fair,” Prompto grunted.

Noctis stepped into the opening. “First place.”

“No fair,” Prompto muttered again. “Warping in so cheating.”

Noctis laughed as he began to explore the shack. “You’re faster than me. You used your talents, I used mine.”

“No fair,” Prompto mumbled, giving up. “Fine. You win,” he said jovially.

They heard the sound of feet as Ignis and Gladio jogged up.

“Was it necessary to leave us behind?” Ignis wondered.

Noctis and Prompto looked at each other and grinned. “Yes.”

Ignis sighed at their behavior as Gladio stepped into the building. “Third,” Gladio said calmly.

Ignis groaned. “Don’t encourage them.” He buried his face into his hand as he stepped into the building. “Fourth.”

Noctis grinned at as he heard Prompto laugh. Another day, another chance to make Ignis lighten up a bit. Now, to find that hunter. He didn’t seem to be anywhere in this shack. Maybe it was a lost cause; maybe he moved on somewhere else.

“Noct,” Ignis stated to get his attention. “Over here.”

Noctis followed Ignis to a desk where a pile of papers lay. On top was a hunt mark. At least the hunter was here, Noctis thought.

_Mutant Dualhorn Sighting. Codename: Bloohorn. Characteristics…_

He didn’t have time to read the rest as Ignis yelled for his attention. Noctis barely got to the ground as a sabertusk jumped him, barely processed the frantic cries of Prompto worrying about his safety. He accepted Prompto’s hand as he stood to his feet, the other man shooting the sabertusk on Gladio.

Noctis warp striked the sabertusk that narrowly missed him, tearing it in two at this close distance. “Easy,” he muttered.

“You need to keep an eye out Noctis,” Ignis reprimanded.

“That’s what I have you for. Gladio won’t let anything happen either – Prompto as well. We are a team,” Noctis said.

“Right,” Prompto and Gladio chimed in.

“Of course,” Ignis acknowledged.  “Merely trying to help you be the best you can be.”

Noctis nodded. Ignis was always like this, and he wouldn’t change his oldest friend for the world. He took one last look around the cabin. “No body. The hunter is still out there.”

“We can hope,” Gladio agreed.

They set off, finding the hunter in a smaller shack about five minutes away. Dave was his name. He seemed formidable enough, though the monster was a bit much for him. Their mission for Cindy was done, but… they might as well help the man. It would be good to be friendly with the Hunters Guild after all, even if their trip was ending in Galdin Quay.

They took down the monster with ease, and headed back to Cindy.

* * *

 

 _Chores, chores, chores,_ Noctis thought as Cindy requested they do her a small favor. It was optional, though he couldn’t say no to Cindy. She seemed like a good person, and while her grandfather may have overcharged them, they seemed to be good people. As a former friend of his father, Cid was testing him to see if he had what it took to be King.

Noctis shrugged as he got into the car. A necessary evil, though he had gotten used to everyone testing him throughout his life. Ignis did it enough, even Gladio at times. More and more these days too.

He looked over to Prompto, who was in the back seat for a change – not allowed anywhere near the steering wheel now, according to Ignis. That was okay with Noctis. Prompto made him happy, his one friend who had no real expectations. Sure, Prompto looked up to him, perhaps a bit too much, though Prompto never wanted him to be anything other than who he was.

It was… refreshing.

The ride to the hotel at Longwythe rest stop wasn’t long, just long enough to let him doze out without falling asleep. Noctis let Ignis handle the chore that Cindy had sent them here for.  He was following Prompto to the Crow’s Nest Café when something caught his eye – a small black dog.

“Give me a moment,” he called out to Prompto.

“I’ll get your fav,” Prompto cheered, accepting without question. He always did.

Noctis approached the puppy, an old friend from child hood. He brushed his hand through the dog’s hair as he neared. “How are you little guy? It’s been months,” he said, retrieving the book from its mouth.

He brushed his finger over the bookmark, a card with a blue flower sealed inside of it. A sylleblosom as he learned during his first conversation with Luna. He chuckled at the thought. He had enjoyed her company then as an injured child just looking for a friend; now, he was going to marry her.

He hadn’t seen her in 12 years, and now he was engaged. He couldn’t say he was upset. From what scarce pictures of her that had passed through the imperial blockades, she was a stunning woman, and from the conversations that they had through their book he knew she was a kind soul. But still – marriage. The thought was scary. But he was king. He had to do what was best for his kingdom. Luna was technically under the sovereignty of Nifleheim – her hand offered to him in marriage. A treaty for a peace their world so sorely needed. At least he liked – and maybe even loved, if he knew what that meant – the person he was supposed to marry.

He opened the book to find her words written in intricate letters. ‘It’s come time for me to leave Tenebrae.’

For our wedding, he hoped. The Nifleheim Empire had been calm these last two years. Hopefully nothing was up with them that might lead to Luna having to leave her home. He would know soon. To Galdin Quay to take a ship to Altissia. Marriage in less than a week. The thought put a feeling in his stomach he couldn’t describe. Excitement, fear, maybe even a little arousal. He had spent so long thinking about her in so many ways.

‘Finally going to see you after all these years,’ he wrote back, closing the book and returning it to Umbra as he gave the dog one last pet.

“Doggy!” Noctis heard behind him, making his shoulders jump to his neck.

Prompto was behind him with a grin on his face as he leaned down to pet the dog. “What was all this about,” Prompto asked, scratching the dog under the chin.

“Nothing,” Noctis muttered. Prompto was… not the person he wanted to talk to about this. They were close friends, the best, and perhaps even too close. He had more than once considered more than just a friendship, though rarely allowed the thought of more. He was to be king – a king who died young by the power of the l’Cie – and had no time for a relationship that wouldn’t result in passing down the power of the Lucis line. The Lucii must be preserved. The first lesson as a son of Lucis.

“Fine, be that way,” Prompto said in a mock-exhausted voice. “You’re the one with a dog that followed you all the way out here. To Galdin we go!”

They went back and waited by the car for Ignis to finish up his transaction with the hotel owner. Noctis had to fight back a chuckle as Prompto sang his tune – “I’m gonna ride my chocobo all day!” – before sliding his hand over Prompto’s where no one else could see. They were waiting on Ignis anyway. It wasn’t as if holding his best friend’s hand was a threat to the Lucii. 

* * *

 

They arrived at Galdin Quay an hour later. It was a nice little resort just south of Insomnia. If he strained his memory, Noctis could recall a time when he visited here, or somewhere like it, when he was a child. Before the accident that killed his mother and crippled him for years. Before Nifleheim restarted their quest to rule the world and locked Insomnia behind the wall.

The beach was warm, like all of Liede outside the protective biome of Insomnia. But the heat fit Galdin Quay in a way that it didn’t the rest of Liede. Liede was supposed to be a beautiful grassland, though less luscious than the fields of Duscae. Once, Insomnia and its crystal had helped Liede flourish much like the Disk of Cauthess gave life to Duscae, but hiding behind the wall had left the rest of the lands to die out. Now, Liede was a vast desert of heat and little else.

For Galdin Quay, the temperature worked as it was a resort town that doubled as a small port for passage to Accordo. The warmth fit the ideal of what a beach town was supposed to be, and while Noctis was here, he could pretend everything was right in the world, if but for a moment.

The short day of travel in Liede was painful in a way he didn’t expect. Noctis knew on a logical level that the lands surrounding Insomnia had suffered under Imperial presence, but seeing it hurt him in a way he didn’t expect.

_I vow to fix the damage that the Empire has caused. When I become King, Lucis will flourish._

He couldn’t blame his father for the state of their kingdom. Insomnia had been dealt a bad hand, and his father had played it as best he could. King Morus the same before him. Nifleheim had been biding its power for centuries, always jealous of the status quo – that Lucis and its line of kings held unquestioned power.

He would be marrying Lunafreya Nox Fleret soon, the Oracle. The King and the Oracle often got married – he would be the 12th in a line where he was the 114th – and their shared rule brought prosperous light to the world. Many Kings sought such unions, denied due to just how close their blood lines were intertwined. He would be married to the Oracle, and in a few years when his father died, take up the mantle as King.

The thought of his father dying always pained him, but he understood it from a young age. The power of the l’Cie drained a human life. He could see his father’s body failing – the way he limped, the way he aged well beyond his years – and knew that he had only a few years left. They were years that Noctis intended to use to cherish their last few memories together, and to learn how to be king. Though he had already been doing that his whole life.

He would have a week to consider his life before he was married. He was excited to marry Luna in many ways, but in others, it was his life being taken away from him. It was a fate he had been preparing for since the day he was old enough to speak, but now it was here. Soon, his right to marry who he pleased would be taken from him, though it could be worse.

For now, he would just have to enjoy his time with his brothers. They were walking toward the main resort now, his buddies teasing him on his upcoming tying of the knot as they traversed a long dock connecting beach and platform floating at sea. There, they would find a boat to take him to Altissia. A week from now, he would be married. A shiver of anticipation that conflicted with the harsh heat of the beach sun traveled up his arm.

The shiver morphed into something else as a man approached. He looked familiar to Noctis, just slightly, but he couldn’t place it. The man spoke, his voice slimy, confirming any negative feelings Noctis held towards him.

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck.” The man’s green robes billowed in the sea breeze, his gait solid let also faltering just enough to make Noctis question if he was well.

 _Strange man_ , Noctis thought. “Are we?” How, exactly, were they out of luck, and did this peculiar person have something to do with it?

“The boats bring you here.”

Ignis and Gladio stiffened beside him, and Prompto shifted to hold himself small. “What about ‘em?” Prompto asked, voice quiet and nervous. Noctis couldn’t tell if he was wearing his heart on his sleeves as always, or if he was playing the situation smart and pretending to be the youngest brother, afraid that their ride was late. Either way worked.

The man turned back the way he came. “Well, they’ll not take you forth,” he said. He almost sounded happy, though not in a way that made it sound like he stood to profit.

“And what’s your story?” Gladio questioned. Noctis felt his bodyguard flexing at his powers, ready to make his great sword appear in his hand at a moment’s notice.

“I’m an impatient traveler, ready to turn ship.” The man walked through their group, splitting them in two. “The ceasefire’s getting us nowhere.” He sounded sad, though whether he was upset to miss his trip, or upset that talks of peace were taking place was harder to determine. Noctis appraised the man again, his dress and manner suddenly clicking. A merchant. A merchant upset that a war may come to an end and his business crashing with it. Despicable.

Noctis’s eyes widened as the man turned and threw a silver object at him. He held his hand up to defend his face, body ready to warp and change position, though a blow never came as Gladio caught it. It clinked as it hit his hand.  

“What’s this? Some sort of souvenir?” Gladio questioned, holding up the silvered object that appeared to be a coin. He looked about ready to pummel the man, not that Noctis could blame him. He likely viewed it as an assault of some sort. Even a misunderstood threat against a prince was punishable in Lucis, though perhaps it would not be best to think that way. Outside of Insomnia, he held less sway. Perhaps the man didn’t even recognize him.

“Consider it your allowance,” the man said. Noctis rolled his eyes. The man clearly thought he was doing them a favor. At least he didn’t recognize that he was in the presence of a prince.

Gladio spoke, pushing aside Prompto who was trying to get a look at the coin. “Yeah, and who’s allowing us?” he demanded from the man.

“A man of no consequence.” And then he turned to leave, apparently giving up on his boat.

“Yeah, right,” Noctis grumbled. “That was weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Prompto mumbled. “I thought I was going to have to jump him for you.”

“Sure you were,” Gladio retorted. “Save the jumping for me.”

“Aye aye!” Prompto chirped.

Noctis was about to start walking further into the resort, pool chairs and the scent of food filling the places that he could see, but Ignis grabbed his arm.

“That man…” Ignis said. He paused for a moment before continuing. “That man was from Nifleheim.”

“I was wondering why you weren’t speaking,” Noctis acknowledged. “There was something _wrong_ with him. Did you catch anything else? I feel like he was a merchant, like an arms dealer or something. He seemed upset that there are peace talks.”

“I noticed as well,” Ignis replied. “Though, I fear he was of a more prominent standing. I recognize him, though I cannot place where.”

“Well, let’s just get to Altissia,” Noctis said. “My wife awaits.”

“Do you think the port is really closed?” Prompto wondered, picking up speed to scout ahead, impatient as always and wanting to find out just a split second before everyone else.

“I’m skeptical, though I won’t discount the possibility,” Ignis stated.

“I say we go check it out for ourselves,” Gladio said, with a hand on Noctis’s shoulder.

Noctis lead the way to the dock to find it empty of boats. _Just great_ , he thought. “Ignis?”

The older man sighed. “I will figure out something. Let’s plan to stay here for the night, your father has an account here we can use for a room. I’ll smooth over the details. For now, the night is yours.”

Noctis nodded, a smile on his face. One more night to himself before he was married. What would he do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Chapter 2 will be set after they wake up the next day. There will be an interlude between chapters 1 and 2 posted as a separate story Noctis and Prompto go to the beach ;p
> 
> Also, I still need friend and betas, so comment away!


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